Species Megasphaera hexanoica

Name: Megasphaera hexanoica Jeon et al. 2017

Category, proposed as: species, sp. nov.

Etymology: he.xa.no’i.ca. N.L. neut. n. acidum hexanoicum, hexanoic acid; N.L. fem. adj. hexanoica, referring to the production of hexanoic acid

Pronunciation (Latin), gender: me-ga-SP^HA͡E-ra he-xa-NO-i-ka, feminine

Type strain: JCM 31403; KCCM 43214; MH

See detailed strain information at

Conduct genome-based taxonomy at

16S rRNA gene: KX021300 Analyse FASTA

Valid publication: Jeon BS, Kim S, Sang BI. Megasphaera hexanoica sp. nov., a medium-chain carboxylic acid-producing bacterium isolated from a cow rumen. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2017; 67:2114-2120. 🇰🇷

IJSEM list: Oren A, Garrity GM. Notification list. Notification that new names and new combinations have appeared in volume 67, part 7 of the IJSEM. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2017; 67:3689-3691.

Nomenclatural status: validly published under the ICNP

Taxonomic status: correct name (and explicitly recommended for medical use)

Risk group: 1

• Synonyms:

  • Name	Kind
    "Caecibacter massiliensis" Ricaboni et al. 2017	heterotypic synonym, not validly published

• Notes:
  • ⏰ According to Heng et al. (2025), this species is an earlier heterotypic synonym of "Caecibacter massiliensis" Ricaboni et al. 2017. Publication: Heng YC, Lee JKY, Silvaraju S, Kittelmann S. Description of Megasphaera jansseni sp. nov., a novel short- and medium-chain fatty acid-producing species isolated from faeces of a wild boar (Sus scrofa), and a taxonomic note on the family Veillonellaceae. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2025; 75:6937. 🇸🇬
  • 😢 The terminology used by the authors is in line with many other taxonomic studies and does not negatively affect their main results; some improvements may nevertheless be possible. Using the term "phylogenetic data" (or equivalent) for sequence data is not advocated. Whether taxa can have "members" is debatable. See the LPSN phylogeny page for details. Publication: Göker M. What can genome analysis offer for bacteria? In: Bridge P, Smith D, Stackebrandt E (eds), Trends in the systematics of bacteria and fungi, CAB International, Wallingford, 2021, p. 255-281. 🇬🇧
  • 😷 The risk group for Germany has been imported on 2026-08-13. The full classification is: risk group = 1. — If in doubt, use the risk group given in the regulations for your country and, if these are not available, use the risk group given in the catalogue of the culture collection from which you have obtained or intend to obtain the strain.
  • 🎓 Name mentioned 12 times in PubMed until 2026-06-11.
  • 🙆 This name is on the List of Recommended Names for bacteria of medical importance (LoRN) as the name to be applied to this species. The name is on LoRN because of the recorded risk group of the genus.

Parent taxon: Megasphaera Rogosa 1971 (Approved Lists 1980)

Assigned by: Jeon BS, Kim S, Sang BI. Megasphaera hexanoica sp. nov., a medium-chain carboxylic acid-producing bacterium isolated from a cow rumen. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2017; 67:2114-2120. 🇰🇷

Linking: To permanently link to this page, use https://doi.org/10.83108/rn.795517Copy to clipboardLink copied to clipboard

Record number: 795517